Boxing Hand Wraps – Look After Your Hands!

by Fran on January 20, 2011

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Boxing Hand Wraps - All Wrapped Up!

Before we look at the video on wrapping your hands, there is a golden rule that I must make as plain and clear as possible. Never, ever hit a punch bag without appropriate hand protection. Don’t even be tempted to have a little pop as you walk past. The damage that you can do if you don’t have hand wraps or bandaged and protected with gloves is immense.

I’m not talking about nasty little cuts and abrasions here, I’m talking about disintegrated knuckles and shattered metacarpals where the damage is so grave that the hand is permanently disfigured and will never function properly again.

There is a range of options available when it comes to hand protection (I've provided a selection at the end of the article), none of which are going to break the bank, so there’s no excuse for not avoiding pain and problems. Hand protection is covered in the main by the following options:

Boxing Hand Wraps

Crepe Bandages

Gel Under Gloves

Boxing Hand Wraps

In the following five minute video I explain exactly how I have been protecting my hands for more years than I can remember by using boxing hand wraps. Hand wraps are a modern progression of the old fashioned crepe bandage.

Hand wraps consist of very tightly woven fabric and are available in a range of colours and are specialised pieces of kit designed for combat sports such as boxing, Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Hand wraps include a loop or ‘partial glove’ at one end (to provide the anchor point to wrap the hands) and a Velcro fastener at the other end, allowing a speedy application. Wraps tend to provide a higher level of protection than crepe bandages and would not ordinarily require the addition of sponge layers to improve protection. That is not to say that you couldn't put a crepe bandage on underneath a wrap in order to double up your protection.

Go for the longer version of the wrap, that's 5 yards (4.5 metres).

Check out the video then you can read on to find out about using the crepe alternative and indeed the gel under gloves.

BE ADVISED: If you compete in amateur boxing, and depending upon the country in which you compete, you are only able to use specific brands of wraps during competition, and you certainly cannot use crepe bandages or gel under gloves. Your trainer/coach will be able to advise. Of course in the gym you can use whatever you want 🙂

OK, let's have a look at the other options for hand protection.

Crepe Bandages

If rather than boxing hand wraps you decide on the option of crepe bandages, there are a few things to consider. Bandages are available at pharmacies/drug-stores and are very hard-wearing. You can have any colour, so long as it’s white, and you should avoid purchasing the basic cotton version as there is no elasticity in these and they really can become quite uncomfortable on the hand.

It’s helpful to make a small incision at one end of the bandage to allow the thumb to be threaded through (the equivalent of the loop on the boxing hand wrap); this makes the process of wrapping the hands easier.

I have always found that a bandage of 3" (7.5 cm) width and 5 yds (4.5 metres) in length is perfect. The length is important because the ideal way to wrap the hands is to feed the bandage in between the fingers and some way up the wrist. As described in the video, feeding the bandages through the fingers prevents the bandages riding up the hand when hitting the bag, thus avoiding leaving the knuckle area unprotected.

Gel Under Gloves

Finally are the modern gel-filled under gloves (overleaf). This type of hand protection has become more common in boxing in recent years. They are a more expensive form of hand protection, and although their use has become more common, the hand-wraps remain more widespread in boxing.Under-gloves tend to be marketed as a convenient alternative to bandages or wraps, so there may well be compromises in terms of hand protection.

I would suggest that if you are going to try these types of gloves, ensure that they fit the hand perfectly. If there is any movement of the glove across the hand, then it is highly likely that significant friction-type injuries will be caused to the knuckles. Whilst these injuries are not terribly serious, they can be very annoying and troublesome over time.

I’d also be concerned that the many stitched joins could be a source of weakness where damage could occur. My personal preference remains hand wraps or bandages; gel-filled under-gloves have yet to convince this traditionalist.

On a final note, I will again emphasise the importance of protecting your hands, after all they need to last you for the rest of your life! Gloves alone cannot provide the necessary armour. Repeated blows against a heavy bag (or the even more implacable maize bag) are going put massive stress on your hands and wrists particularly as your power develops.

Take protecting your hands seriously and enjoy bag work without the threat of causing lasting damage to the ‘tools of the trade’.

Below are some options from Amazon that I would choose if selecting from wraps and gel-gloves.

BOXING HAND WRAPS (US):

UNDER GLOVES (US):

CREPE BANDAGES (US):

BOXING HAND WRAPS (UK):

UNDER GLOVES (UK):

CREPE BANDAGES (UK):

If you have any comments or questions then let me know below.

Cheers

Fran

PS - Please note that if you click on one of the above Amazon links and subsequently make a purchase, I make a small commission. Da Law says I gots to tell you this 🙂

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Fran, just found the site, thanks so much for all the invaluable knowledge.

So apologies on the duplication of subject, but have you had any experience with the Everlast wraps with the extra isoplate padding around the knuckles? I’m a professional guitarist and am obviously trying to take all possible precautions to protect my hands. Been using these for the last couple of weeks for training and they seem to help but might be too soon to tell.

Have you worked with any musicians? My coach advised me my hands should be fine as long as I wrap properly and use correct gloves, although other musicians have told me they stopped boxing because of the impact hitting bags/ people was having on their joints. Any suggestions? Someone also suggested knuckle guards, any experience of these?

I have played guitar since I was 21, although I am a very long way from being anything like professional 🙂 Speaking from experience, I agree with your coach. I would avoid hitting bags before a performance/studio session just because your hands will feel a little weird afterwards (not sure you may have already experienced this). But, there is absolutely no reason boxing and guitar can’t be perfectly happy bedfellows as long as you take appropriate precautions.

Not seen those Everlast wraps, but the principle is a common one. A thin layer of foam underneath the wraps to add further protection.

What I would do:

– Each hand, a crepe bandage over the thin layer of foam across the knuckle area.
– Over the crepe use a conventional wrap applied as shown above.
– Gloves go for 14ox or 16 oz sparring gloves (as described here)

“My main irk, is people who try to make the first loop of the thumb, across the front of hand , instead of to the back, as it will always work off and loosen the ‘hand wrap”
So I take it then that did Fran did it incorrectly in the video then? After Fran puts the loop on the thumb the first wrap starts across the palm side of the hand. Or maybe I’ve misinterpreted you. Thanks

Hi Tommy, I wouldn’t say Fran is wrong. And maybe with longer wraps, and tape, the loop is less likely to slip off . But I only know, if I come across the front of the hand, that after a session of ‘hard punching’ the loop may well have slipped/worked of over the thumb – anchor point. And as a consequence the wraps have slackened off. Coming apart as the hand is pulled from the glove.

However once wrapped either way it makes no difference really – or does it – but I would argue that, from my own experience, if I take the wrap, from the looped thumb, across the front palms, it is likely the loop will work off and over the thumb, and then the tension in the wraps will fail, slacken, fall apart, and not do the job intended. Dare I say I can hit hard.

This is interesting, perhaps with a smaller/normal hand, with more windings, this is unlikely to happen. Or is it a practice from the past, when the boxing glove thumbs, were not stitched to the main body of the glove. And maybe there would be a chance that the warp could slip and pull back the thumb, like a hitch hikers thumb. We are all different in some ways. Will be interested to hear Fran’s view. Jab jab, Alexander.

Thanks for the considered comments. Interesting, because I had a guy on the YT channel make the same observation of wrapping around the back first. I wouldn’t particularly disagree and to be honest I probably do it both ways. I don’t notice a different probably because the act of wrapping the wrist first holds the thumb loop (in my experience).

On the previous video I didn’t wrap the thumb because of the shortness of the wraps I preferred to maximise the protection on the fist. Lots of people didn’t like that!!!! As you say though, modern gloves give a ton of protection to the thumb unlike the gloves of yesteryear.

I hope though that the key message isn’t lost – I like to look after the hands because they are needed to do a ton of other stuff aside from punching (as my mediocre skills on guitar amply demonstrate!)

Hi Fran, thanks for that, and yehhh – must always use the wraps – and I think your example is best. But dependent on individual hands – some folks might want to vary it a bit. And don’t forget hand and wrist strength – wraps – wont necessarily overcome weaknesses there – the muscle needs built up. Archie Moore, a very durable Boxer in the 1950’s used to do a kind of ‘short flexing and pressing’ off the wall – but using the clenched fist – rapid staccato style – short and abrupt. And he had ‘very good strong wrists, hands, and forearms as many of his fallen opponents knew. Sorry to blabber on Fran. And hey, I play a good finger blues guitar, and my metacarpals are good, and in tune with my feet – Ali Shuffle an all. Keep up the good work.
Cheers Alexander.

The gel under-gloves are OK. My preference, and that of most of the boxers in our gym, are good old hand-wraps but gel gloves do work too. Get some high wristed bag gloves with good velcro and this will help with the wrists. The harder you begin to hit though the more likely you will switch to wraps in time – you can still take them off nice and quick, it’s putting them on that takes a little time.

In terms of when you can use skipping, the answer is that you can skip at any point during your session. During warm up and indeed during your warm down. It’s all down to the level of intensity. When used during warm down it’s nice and slow and steady. As part of warm up it’s a gradual build up. When used as part of the session it’s either for a long period with bursts of intensity or short duration with lots of intense sprints and short duration recoveries (at a slower pace).

Yep, I saw a programme about Gypsy Bare-Knuckle Fighting, where they were ready to fight even with damaged hands. One guy described how his grandfather fought for an hour, and got injured so badly his hand needed to be amputated. Having said that, Karate guys practice strikes on a gadget called a Makiwara, traditionally a springy post padded with rope. But they strike with the first two knuckles, and you might have a comment on the difference. During a contest they don’t actually hit the opponent: They’d get disqualified.

Hiya Dan. Good question. Modern sparring and competition gloves protect the thumb really well, unlike the older style. The worst injury I had as a boxer was torn tendons in my right thumb, a long time ago using the old style gloves and during a fight. When hitting a heavy bag using bag gloves/mitts the risk of injuring the thumb is pretty slim, I certainly don’t ever recall seeing such an injury in the gym. So, all in all I think that the bit of bandage/wrap that would be used on the thumb would better serve the knuckles or the wrist, where the impact of the shot is at it’s greatest. Hope I explained that OK Dan. Thanks.